Mió & Káwa: When Nature Becomes Both Material and Mentor

FAAP – Centro Universitário Armando Álvares Penteado

Mió & Káwa addresses the challenge of reducing agricultural waste by transforming underutilized by-products into high-value biomaterials and biodegradable products. The project belongs to the fields of biodesign, sustainable product design and the circular bioeconomy. Rather than treating corn cobs and cocoa husks as waste, it reinterprets them as biological resources capable of generating new material applications. The project also explores how natural systems can inform design decisions, promoting circularity through both material valorization and biomimetic thinking.  
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Bioeconomy
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Ecodesign
Low-impact Textiles
Artificial Intelligence
Digital Product Passport
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Traceability
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Circular Business Models
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Life-Cycle Thinking
Mió & Káwa is a biodesign project that combines biomaterial experimentation with biomimicry to create biodegradable containers from agricultural by-products. Corn cobs and cocoa husks are transformed into bio-based materials using low-impact formulations based primarily on renewable ingredients. Biomimicry guides both form and function: the helical geometry of the corn cob inspired the ergonomic design of a container for serving and eating corn, while the segmented internal structure of the cocoa fruit informed the development of a modular container for organizing small objects. In both cases, the same biological system provides both the material and the design principles. By extending the value of agricultural residues and enabling their safe return to biological cycles, the project promotes waste valorization, renewable material use and regenerative product design, in line with the principles of the waste hierarchy.  
Unlike many biomaterial projects that focus solely on replacing conventional plastics, Mió & Káwa integrates material innovation with biomimetic design. Agricultural residues become not only the source of biodegradable materials but also the inspiration for the products’ morphology, ergonomics and functionality. The project resulted in the successful development of biodegradable biomaterials derived from corn cobs and cocoa husks, as well as functional prototypes demonstrating their application in product design. It validates the potential of agricultural by-products as renewable resources while illustrating how biomimicry can enhance product performance and user experience. Although environmental impacts have not yet been quantified through Life Cycle Assessment, the project demonstrates a replicable design approach that contributes to waste valorization, bio-based material innovation and regenerative design.  

TEAM
Kauanne Silva França, Ladna Ludmila de Sousa Gomes, Luiza Oliveira dos Santos, Prof. Milton Francisco Junior, Prof. Vania Perrotti Pires Graziato